A temple to Hanuman set on a rise in the middle of the town, built like a small four-sided fort with round bastions at the corners. Custom holds that Hanuman guards Ayodhya and that his permission is sought before visiting Rama, so most pilgrims come here before the Ram Janmabhoomi temple.
Inside, a small image of Hanuman as a child sits on the lap of his mother, Anjani, and verses of the Hanuman Chalisa are inscribed on the walls. The besan laddoo sold at the foot of the steps is the prasad most visitors carry home.
The steps are the obstacle: there are 76 of them up to the main shrine, worn and often crowded, with no alternative route. This is the one place in Ayodhya we tell families to think about carefully if someone does not manage stairs.
